VIDEO: TOOLING UP – Improvements in Medical Implants

Narrator: This video is brought to you by Seco Tools, End to End Medical solutions. If you're looking for real world insights, tips from leading industry experts, the latest trends in products and technology, you've come to the right place. From MSC Industrial Supply, this is Tooling Up.

TONI NEARY: Hello and welcome to Tooling Up. I'm your host, Toni Neary, and we are thrilled that you're here with us on the MSC YouTube channel. If this is your first time joining us, please make sure to click that subscribe button so you don't miss any of our other upcoming episodes. And boy, do we have a good one today. Not only do I have a returning superstar of the Tooling Up series, but we also have a special guest as well.

So now we're going to take some time to talk with Jay Ball from Seco Tools. And we needed somebody that was just really, really well versed in the medical industry. So Jay brought in the master of medical devices, Mr. Joe Mecus. And gentlemen, I want to thank you both for taking the time to join us today.

JOE MECUS: You're welcome.

JAY BALL: Thank you. Thanks. Thanks, Toni. Looking forward to it. I think this is my second or third episode, so this is a difficult topic. So I'm glad we brought Joe on because he is the, he's the medical guy, so.

TONI NEARY: All right, Joe, and let's start with you, because I want to share a little bit about your background. I was blown away by just the range of roles and knowledge that you have in the industry. And I have to be honest, I think most people would be intimidated by your wealth of knowledge and your background, and I imagine it has to be such an amazing service to your customers and hopefully not intimidating, but so helpful.

So tell us a little bit about your journey in manufacturing.

JOE MECUS: Yeah, thank you for that, Toni. So that's surprising you say that and I'm almost a little embarrassed to admit that you seem intimidated by my experiences. Seco is a people company in the machining business, so we certainly don't want to be out there intimidating people, but we bring a level of expertise I believe, as you've mentioned, that is unsurpassed in the industry.

So I'm a tool and die maker by trade. I started out in the tool crib and went on to a journeyman’s tool and die apprenticeship, and I've held just about every position in manufacturing from being a machinist to up through manufacturing engineer, operations, and operations management and engineering management. And then for Seco, I've been local technical sales, regional applications engineer, global Strategic Account manager, and today I fill the role or take part in business development for the medical industry.

TONI NEARY: It's fantastic. And I think you're right. Seco has assembled a cast of characters that are just so knowledgeable and well-respected in the industry, which is a perfect segway for the master of milling. Jay, could you talk a little bit about your role at Seco?

JAY BALL: I mean, I’ve got to go after Joe?

TONI NEARY: Don’t be too intimidated. You can do this.

JAY BALL: Man, No. Yeah. Toni, I really appreciate, you know, thanks again for having me back on another episode. And yeah, I've been with Seco for 17 years now. Hard to believe I just turned 39, but I've been with Seco for 17 years and I started off my manufacturing experience as a sweepist in a machine shop at 14 years old, pushing a broom. Worked my way through a couple of different manual machine shops, went to school for tool and die making with a focus on mold making and I've been with Seco like I said for 17 years. I've held different positions within Seco, both from a technical side and an applications side. I've been the product manager for solid tooling for the past eight years. And one of the recent things that I've been very passionate about is knowledge sharing and education. And I think this is a great platform for us.

So I'm really excited to have a conversation with you and Joe about our medical solutions today.

TONI NEARY: And, you know, this is where my inner nerd comes out because I love to geek out about the technology and just the rapid pace that our industry is moving. So, Joe, knowing that this is your specialty, your passion and your area of expertise, are you sometimes just completely in awe of the impacts that are being made in the medical field through the role that Seco plays?

JOE MECUS: I would say yes. Despite the complex and ever changing business landscape I see and technological landscape I see on a daily basis, if I step back and reflect on either what the industry has accomplished or what we've accomplished with the industry, it's humbling to know and see what the average layperson takes for granted is something that we've been developing years in advance of when the average person sees it in the market. Yes.

TONI NEARY: And I think it's really intriguing to me that you're developing and delivering a total solution to your customers. So can you talk a little bit about Seco and this total solution when we're talking about medical devices and how that really has an impact?

JOE MECUS: Yeah. So medical device manufacturing is a little unique, similar to aerospace in that there's a lot of regulations and liability in that business because we're dealing with human lives. So a process change doesn't come very frequently, although when it does, it comes in like decades of advancement. So in order to facilitate or enable that development with our customers, we've designed specific full-component solutions that make it easy for them to implement standard solutions across the board.

TONI NEARY: All right. And a new term that I heard when we were talking earlier was porosity and tell me a little bit about how that impacts production of the parts as well as recovery for patients.

JAY BALL: Yeah. So, you know, currently as it stands with the manufacturing process, customers actually have to machine rough surfaces on these implants to give the bones something to grow to. Well, with the advancements in 3D printing technology, now customers are able to get these hip implants, these knee implants with 3D porosity actually printed into the component so the bone actually has something to grow to,  because you can't have obviously a smooth surface when you're trying to put these implants in because you need something for the bone to stick to.

But unfortunately, there's a unique set of challenges when it comes to actually machining those 3D printed components.

TONI NEARY: So I know that there's advances being made every single day, but what materials are currently being used in all of these parts that Joe is describing? Because I know it's not your average run of the mill, right?

JAY BALL: Yeah, it's really interesting because, you know, and this is where I lean on Joe's expertise, right? He's been teaching me a lot in this medical industry, but there's really two materials that are dominant when it comes to the implants, and that is cobalt chrome and titanium. And each one of those materials has their own really unique set of properties when it comes to machining.

And the reason why those two materials are used is because the body accepts them, they don't reject them. There's very few people that are allergic to those types of materials. So we actually have those implants, whether it's a hip implant or a knee implant, you know, your body accepts it. And depending on the how the material is produced, whether it's forged or it's cast or it's 3D printed, they kind of have their own unique set of manufacturing challenges.

So to go back to your point, Joe, it's very important that when customers are looking at these types of solutions, they're looking for a partner. And that's what we're trying to do at Seco is partner with these customers, because even just the way the material is given to the customer can have an impact on the way they manufacture it.

TONI NEARY: I suspect that Seco really works to provide exceptional information for your customers to make sure that they're being as productive and, you know, following all of these rules and guidelines as closely as they can. Joe, can you talk a little bit about the Seco advantage and what you're bringing to the table for your customers?

JOE MECUS: Yeah. Yes, and that's an excellent question. There are requirements that go along with being involved in medical manufacturing, and that's providing standards that other manufacturers don't request. We need to comply with providing MSDS and SDS sheets for the materials that go into our cutting tools, that contact the finished components, finished implant components, as well as animal and inorganic or non-organic derivative statements to ensure that the products that are being used in the manufacturing process do not have an organic material in them.

And, you know, part of the Seco offering for standard solutions is providing standard tools for the entire manufacturing process that makes it easier for the medical manufacturers to implement any solutions or improvements with all of these standards in place.

TONI NEARY: Beyond the collaboration that you have within your own organization and universities or medical manufacturers, could you describe a little bit about the collaboration of Seco and other manufacturers in the industry? Because, Joe, I know you reached out to Jay Ball's team and others across the organization to get the right solutions for the customer. Are there partners within their own specialty on a specific device, and how does that work for you at Seco?

JOE MECUS: I would say it's broader than just internal collaboration at Seco, although that's an important part of course. Any of our industrial partners, whether they be machine tool builders or CAD/CAM specialists or coolant manufacturers, we're all working collaboratively together to ensure the best delivery for a process that is sustainable and reduces risk to the end user, not just our customer and medical manufacturers, but their end user, the patient.

TONI NEARY: Like every time we talk, it blows my mind. It's just absolutely amazing when you really start to uncover the opportunities in this industry for just improvement, development, product, solution and all the roles that are impacted by that, right, from the creation and the person who's sitting at a table saying, I have a crazy idea, what if we did it this way?

And could you even imagine what that was like back in the day where it's like, Yeah, we're going to make a fake hip and we're going to put that in somebody's body to now, where you have a hip replacement or a knee replacement and they have you up and walking within 24 hours. It's just absolutely mind blowing. Thank you both so much for your time today.

JOE MECUS: You’re very welcome.

JAY BALL: Thanks for giving us the opportunity to talk to you today about these medical solutions that we offer.

TONI NEARY: Absolutely. And Jay, it was great to reconnect again,  Joe, so great to meet you. And if you've enjoyed our conversation as much as I have, don't forget to click that subscribe button so you don't miss any additional episodes of Tooling Up. You can find out more about the product offerings and solutions of Seco and manufacturing and how they're impacting the medical industry at www.mscdirect.com/seco. Thank you so much and we'll see you next time on Tooling Up.

Narrator: Want more insights and ideas to improve the efficiency and productivity of your operations? Check out the Tooling Up video playlist to hear tips that can take your company to the next level. And subscribe to our channel so you won't miss out.